


Comes with the Job

by Sehin



Series: November 2020 One-Shots [17]
Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternative Universe - Detectives, Alternative Universe - Modern Setting, By Committing a Murder, Covering Up Past Murders, F/M, M/M, Mentioned Annabel Blackthorn/Lady Midnight, Mentioned Cordelia Carstairs, Mentioned Diana Wrayburn, Mentioned Dru Blackthorn, Mentioned Gwyn ap Nudd, Mentioned Helen Blackthorn, Mentioned Horace Dearborn, Mentioned Jem Carstairs - Freeform, Mentioned John Carstairs, Mentioned Kieran (Shadowhunters), Mentioned Kit Herondale, Mentioned Livvy Blackthorn, Mentioned Max Lightwood, Mentioned Mina Carstairs, Mentioned OCs, Mentioned Robert Lightwood - Freeform, Mentioned Tavvy Blackthorn, Mentioned Tessa Gray - Freeform, Mentioned Ty Blackthorn, Mentioned Zara Dearborn, Multi, Not Beta Read, Psychosis, Someone really hated Johnny Rook, Spoilers for The Dark Artifices, set in Los Angeles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:21:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27602716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sehin/pseuds/Sehin
Summary: This wouldn't be Emma Carstairs first body, and it wouldn't be the last. What was different about this one was not just cause she knew who the victim was, but also what the state of it was.*The murder of one Johnny Rook leads to a shocking discovery for Detective Emma Carstairs and her partner Cristina Rosales.Detective AU, set after The Blond Detective and The Redhaired Artist (same AU)For Hobbit69
Relationships: Annabel Blackthorn | Lady Midnight/Malcolm Fade, Gwyn ap Nudd/Diana Wrayburn, Johnny Rook/Rosemary, Julian Blackthorn/Emma Carstairs, Mark Blackthorn/Kieran/Cristina Rosales, Tiberius Blackthorn/Kit Rook
Series: November 2020 One-Shots [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994803
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Comes with the Job

This wouldn't be Emma Carstairs first body, and it wouldn't be the last. What was different about this one was not just cause she knew who the victim was, but also what the state of it was.

Getting the call at one am after only getting to sleep an hour earlier due to a vigorous workout with her boyfriend and best friend Julian certainly didn't help. Luckily, her partner Cristina Rosales was already waiting at the crime scene with a coffee and a smirk on her face. Considering she was dating Julian's older brother and said brother's boyfriend, she knew what the Blackthorns were like. Tonight, however, would bring up said connection.

"Johnny Rook," Emma sighed as she watched the body get lifted onto a gurney to be sent the morgue. "Never expected he'd piss someone else enough to try to take his head off with a blunt knife."

Cristina nodded. "Multiple stab wounds to the chest and stomach, multiple marks across his neck, shot twice in both shoulders and an attempted beheading," she replied. "By the angel, someone really must've wanted him deader than Rasputin."

The blonde detective chuckled and noted the crime scene. "Not much blood though," she said. "Clearly a body dump."

"I'll have someone pull footage from any street cameras," her partner smiled. "Diego owes me a favour or two."

"Tormenting your ex-boyfriend again?" Emma asked, smirking at her.

"Nah," Cristina replied, shaking her head. "Just getting the bastard who did this."

Emma nodded. She couldn't help but agree. Next up was notifying the victim's next of kin. Luckily she knew precisely where Rook's son would be and what his alibi would be anyway.

*

After getting off the phone with Kit, who was living in England with Julian's brother Ty and didn't seem bothered by his father's death since they hadn't spoken since he was sixteen, having been living away from him for over a year, Emma got back to work on Johnny Rook's case.

The guy had a record longer than her arm. Extortion, theft, piracy, burglary, child endangerment, sale of stolen goods, receiving stolen goods, even one case of arson against a store owner who slighted him. Rook wasn't into drugs or guns but his arrest wrap dated back to childhood living on the streets and never did much. His wife walked out on him when their son was two and several times had used said son in some of his cons. Eventually, child services got wind of it, particularly after Ty and his late twin Livia had become friends with Kit, and he ended up in the care of Emma's father's cousin Jem, who took him to England about twelve years ago and only ever came back to spend time with his now-boyfriend's family.

Emma frequently came across him when she was a beat cop and when she made detective, it wasn't unusual for her to find him up to some no good. She could count on her's, her partner and her boyfriend's fingers and toes just how many times he'd shown up in just the past two years. But he'd been quiet for nearly three months now, which was troubling but not enough to investigate.

"So, CSIs got back from Rook's apartment," Cristina spoke from her desk. "Definitely the crime scene with all the blood there. They also found enough stolen items to put him behind bars if he was caught."

"Anything else interesting?" Emma asked.

"Only that there was one photo of Rook, his ex-wife and their son when he was a baby," she replied. "Almost like a shrine to weirdness."

"We always have one redeeming feature," the blonde said. "Even if it's outweighed by all the failures in their life."

"How's Kit taking it?" her partner asked.

"I think he's shocked but not surprised," Emma sighed. "He may not have spoken to him since he left for the UK twelve years ago after the guy surrendered custody of him, but even I can tell he loved his dad alot."Cristina smiled. "Ty's with him. So are Jem, Tessa and their daughter Mina. He'll be okay."

"And out of our list of suspects," she replied. "Not that he would ever have been on it."

"Do we even have a list of suspects?"

"Loads," Emma growled. "Rook's pissed off a lot of people over the years. They'd all want him dead."

"But not as gruesomely as what did happen," Diego's voice said, leading both women to turn to him. "Autopsy's back. Kieran and Dru worked overtime."

Emma smiled. Kieran was the lead M.D. while Dru was working as his intern assistant. She always liked the gruesome stuff. "And what did they find?" she asked.

Diego handed her a file. "Kieran identified the weapon that did the killing. A prop knife of all things. Sharp but not sharp enough. There was also enough drugs in his system to O.D. like mad. Kieran found foam in his throat."

"Anything else?" Cristina asked, looking at the other copy her ex gave her. "Like a finger print or at least something?"

Diego chuckled. "Yeah, the footage came back. Wanna see it?"

Both detectives smiled and replied together. "Sure."

*

There were days when Emma really hated her job. Particularly when she not only knew victim and the victim's family, but also the lead suspect and murderer.

Malcolm Fade, a wannabe movie producer and an old family friend to her late parents, age about fifty and nine year widower to Annabel Blackthorn, a distant cousin to Julian and his family. A kind and friendly man, if a bit eccentric. He was so weird though that even Clary Fairchild, Emma's friend in New York had said that even Magnus Bane found him "odd". Didn't stop him from being a murderer.

Footage of the night Johnny Rook died showed Fade walking into the man's apartment building and leaving with the dead body on his shoulders, not even pretending that Rook wasn't dead. The footage followed them down to the alley the dead con-man was dumped in and then the suspect simply walked home, uncaring of the blood on his clothing. Emma and Kristina brought him in while Diego went through his residence with the CSI teams. Now Malcolm Fade sat in an interrogation room while Emma and Cristina waited for word to go in.

"Just got a text from Diego," Cristina said, looking at her phone, quickly stilling. "You better look at this."

Emma took her phone and gagged at the picture. "Oh no."

"Yep," the other replied. "Fade is more than an eccentric murderer it seems."

Both entered the room and sat across from the man. Malcolm looked up and smiled.

"Emma," he said. "You look beautiful. Certainly not that little girl who used to use wooden swords on her best friend. How is Julian?"

"About to have some closure," she replied. "In more ways than one."

Settling into the interview, Cristina presented the file with the images from the night of Johnny Rook's death. "So," she began. "Why'd you kill Johnny Rook?"

Malcolm smiled. "Because Annabel asked me too."

Both women looked at each other. Looney tune, they both thought at the same time.

The man chuckled. "Yes, she is here even now. Even death didn't stop her from wanting revenge."

"Revenge?" Emma asked. "What revenge?"

"Oh, just slights against her." Malcolm replied, almost dismissively. "Rook didn't like the jobs I gave him to do. You know, robbing actors and directors' homes so they'd be begging me to help them in their films. Hated that his job had cost him his relationship with his son and had driven his wife to run away, only to get killed herself. So Annabel decided he was of no use anymore."

"And you didn't bother to cover the crime?" Cristina asked. "Isn't that rule number one of being a killer."

"It was a spur of the moment," the man answered. "Annabel was the real planner. She, of course, forgot about the cameras. Very silly, my dear."  
He then gave a morbid chuckle.

"So you aren't going to deny it, Mr. Fade?" Emma asked.

"Why would I?" Malcolm smiled. "I did it. You caught me, end of story. Doesn't mean I won't be the star of my own film. Annabel always said life stories make the best ones. Though she'll get a better one too. Always for my beloved."

"So your wife is responsible for the deaths of not just my parents, but Livia Blackthorn and Robert Lightwood as well?" Emma barely could contain her anger. "The attempt on Tiberius Blackthorn, Kit Rook-Herondale, Max Lightwood, Shannon Nightraven and Gwyn ap Nudd?!"

Cristina's hand shot out, giving an immediate calm effect.

Malcolm nodded. "Though the last one was meant to help Zara Dearborn's dear father Horace Dearborn. Too bad he died in that tragic car accident just a day later and his beloved heroic daughter is currently in an insane asylum, isn't it?"

Both looked at each other. This confession opened up a whole can of worms. Emma stood out and left the room. Cristina remained.

"Malcolm Fade-Blackthorn, you are under arrest for the murder of Johnny Rook as well as at least four counts of conspiracy to cover murder and at least five counts of conspiracy to cover attempted murder. I'm sure more are on the way when we investigate further."

Malcolm Fade chuckled. "I'm sure there will be."

*

Emma left the LAPD shortly after finishing her report and sending it to Diana. Cristina promised to finish the follow-up and sent her home, planning to leave as soon as Mark arrived to pick her up. It had been a hard few days and right now she needed to be with Julian and her family.

As Emma opened the front door to the apartment, Julian stepped out from the bedroom they'd converted into his art studio, cleaning some of the wet paint from his hands with a cloth.

"Rough day?" he asked as she dropped her keys and kicked off her shoes.

Emma nodded and came over to him, hugging him. "We got Rook's killer."

"And?"

"And turns out he covered from his wife's murders of several people in our lives."

Julian stilled and looked down at her. "Our lives?"

The blonde detective nodded. "Mum, dad, Livvy, Robert Lightwood, among others," she replied, struggling to hold in her emotions again. "Not to mention the attempts on Ty, Kit, Max, Shannon and Diana's husband."

"Fuck!" Julian answered. He then guided both of them to the couch, sitting down. "Even Uncle Arthur?"

"Probably," she replied. "I wouldn't put it past Malcolm Fade to cover for that one. It's going to be a long week."

"I'm sure," the stay-at-home artist smiled. "At least Livvy's ghost can be at peace with the truth."

Emma smiled. "Or stop bothering Ty and Kit so much."

Both chuckled at the thought before falling into a comfortable silence. Then both their bellies growled, leading to a bit of an uplifting laugh.

"Take out?" Julian asked.

"You order, I'm having a shower." Emma replied, standing to head to the bathroom.

"Okay," he said, going for his mobile. "I'll check to see where Tavvy is for tonight. Here or Helen's."

"Sounds like a good idea," she replied, already removing her sweater and top, leaving her in her bra. "He's going to need us."

"We'll need everyone," Julian spoke. "I think a family reunion is in mind."

Emma smiled. "I know."

She then removed the last of her clothing and went to shower while Julian ordered their food. Soon he joined her, just holding each other under the water stream for a time before stepping out to dry. Food arrived just as they dressed in their home clothing and not long after the younger Tavvy arrived to join them.

*

Emma's job was a hard one. But if it got them answers and closure, that was okay with her. Not every job was family related. She was just glad Diana never took them off the case and it would never go to trial.

The victims - the Blackthorns, Carstairs, Herondales and Lightwoods - had suffered enough.

**Author's Note:**

> As I promised after "The Blond Detective and The Redhaired Artist", I would come back to this one and do it with Emma.
> 
> Once again, I had fingers glide across the keyboard and wala, a piece to enjoy. I am satisfied with this one.
> 
> And yes, I went ahead and put in a lot of characters from the books (and dropped a bridge on the Dearborns, who totally deserve it anyway). And Max is still alive in this AU and is a friend of the Blackthorn twins (well Ty now since we lost Livvy). As to what he's doing, well he's in England with his friends. You might have noticed the character "Shannon Nightraven". He is my main OC for the Dark Artifices book and he's quite an interesting character. He's got the nickname "Little River", which also serves as a trigger because he's bipolar and saying it switches from his cold and malicious behaviour to a normal and pleasant one. He becomes a good friend to Ty, Livvy and Kit and here is a good friend as well (he's also lives in England but travels more often than not, often with Max as company, leaving Ty and Kit to spend quality time together).
> 
> Anyway, reviews and kudos.


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